May proves to be a strong month for carmakers
Light trucks a big seller in Canadian showrooms
Approaching the halfway point of 2015, the car-buying frenzy continues as Canadian consumers satisfy their needs for new vehicles at a record pace. Several manufacturers, including FCA (formerly Chrysler), Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Subaru, experienced a best-ever sales month.
FCA is back at the top of the sales charts, selling 31,617 vehicles for a 0.4-per-cent gain over last May. Ford took second spot at 29,043 units despite an 8.5-per-cent decrease and General Motors rounded out the top three at 27,462 vehicles, an increase of 3.8 per cent. Toyota and Honda complete the top five with small declines, selling 25,291 and 15,853 respectively.
Canadian buyers’ passion for light trucks continues unabated, as truck sales climbed 2.8 per cent to 114,340 vehicles. Once again, passenger car sales have dipped by 1.1 per cent to 83,597 units. It is readily apparent that we like our utility with a dose of luxury, as Audi, BMW, Infiniti, Land Rover, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, Mini and Porsche all experienced doubledigit growth over last May.
It will be interesting to see if these trends continue as gas prices creep closer to the $1.20 mark.
Megaspeed’s second season
Created by the Discovery Canada’s Exploration Production Inc., Season 1 of the adrenaline-fueled show
Megaspeed was a hit, which meant production of Season 2 was a go. The series, narrated by Steve Anthony of CP24 Breakfast, follows racers in their pursuit of speed in a documentary style.
Due to the realities of the production schedule, the first episode might be a bit confusing for some.
The season begins in an Indianap- olis hospital, where Canadian Indycar star James Hinchcliffe is recovering from a concussion leading up to the Indy 500.
Those who follow the sport know that Hinchcliffe was recently in an Indy hospital due to a serious leg injury sustained in a practice crash at Indy, not a concussion.
Series executive producer Karen McCairley cleared up my confusion. The show was filmed leading up to the 2014 Indy and follows Hinch from his hospital bed to the race. Season 3 is already in production and the team is following the driver’s recovery from this year’s crash.
McCairley is excited about the third episode, in which a Discovery team follows Toronto-based competitor Mark Bovey through the rugged countryside scenery at Targa Newfoundland.
Bovey’s Chevy pickup was the first truck ever entered in the event, and turned heads with its unconven- tional retro look.
I am most looking forward to seeing the show’s coverage of the 2014 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. I was on the mountain that day. The episode targets the electric Mitsubishi of Greg Tracy, which won its class, and the father and son team of Randy and Layne Schranz. The elder Schranz, recently been diagnosed with cancer, was making his final attack on the hill at the wheel of a wicked looking Shelby Cobra.
Megaspeed airs Thursdays at 7 p.m., beginning June 25.
Film, TV cars on block
Fans of classic cars and movie buffs looking for something to do today should head east to the tiny town of Hampton, just north of Bowmanville, where a fleet of movie cars are being auctioned off. Movie and TV car provider Dave Wilson is retiring and downsizing his collection of cars. The variety ranges from classics to late model cars.
In a telephone interview earlier this week, Wilson detailed a few of the vehicles on offer.
A green 1960 Pontiac Strato Chief was featured in the 2007 adaptation of Hairspray. Another green machine, a 1969 Ford Wagon, was in The Time Travelers. There is a Ford Model A, used in several scenes of the 2009 movie Amelia, about American adventurer Amelia Earhart.
More information and directions at auction number 68533684 on theauctionadviser.com.
Lease busters celebrates
It seems just yesterday that Toronto drivers who were stuck in a lease they could not afford first began using a new service called Lease busters to extricate themselves from their financial mess. Founded in 1990, the company has helped many people exit their lease, while helping others take over an existing lease.
“Times have changed since the bad old days of an overheated economy and accompanying high inflation,” recalls Jim Matthews, president & general manager of Lease busters. “Auto dealerships and leasing companies were neither motivated nor equipped to assist their customers with an affordable alternative. Lease takeovers, for example, were virtually unknown.”
Having been in the retail end of the industry at the time, I would go further to suggest that most dealership staff thought there was something subversive in what Lease busters was doing. Matthews doesn’t agree.
“There had to be a better way and, after years of hard work refining the concept and educating the public, the Lease busters’ way has become accepted by Canadian consumers and by the vehicle leasing industry.”